Measurement of Time

 

There are multiple ways to measure things, but the most effective way to do so is to also find its counterpart.

In my opinion, Ufan’s essay on Light and Darkness explains (in an incredibly philosophical way) that light and darkness cannot exist without the other. Their existence is dependent on one another. You are unable to see true darkness without experiencing the presence of light. Without light, how do we know what is dark? Without dark, how do we know what is light? As Ufan said, “there is darkness in all forms of light, and light penetrates all kinds of darkness.” They compliment each other in the sense that the weakness in one brings out the strength of the other.

In this case, my photo connects nature and arithmetic. Since Ufan touched on light, dark, space and time, I thought it would be interesting to combine all 4 of the elements. Light and darkness measure contrast and visibility, where space and time are measured by mass and the sun. I chose to use a different form of measurement to portray the amount of light in the photo. You are able to see the range of light by the presence of darkness. Both positive and negative spaces are seen in the photo and you are able to decipher between the two because of the opposing masses. Ufan describes empty space as “a contradictory realm where light and darkness are unified.” Time is governed by the sun and in the photo you can see there is about 2 inches of sunlight. There are multiple ways to measure things, but the most effective way to do so is to also find its counterpart. 

 

Would this photo be as successful in black and white? How does color change the feeling of the photo?

Newton’s Third Law

 

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

The thing about darkness and light is that they never appear the same way twice. It is always changing, whether it is indoors or outdoors light and darkness never play the same game. That is the challenging part of taking a photo with natural light (the sun) because it is hard to control. You as the photographer can move, but your source of light stays in the same spot and it is your job to make it work in the photo. This photo combines nature and science in following the rules behind Newton’s Third Law of Motion which states, “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Although this applies to motion, I also feel that it applies to light and darkness. Where you find light, you find darkness and where you find darkness you find light. As Ufan said, “a concept of light or darkness considered in isolation cannot be valid,” and that ,”it is too problematic to be too concerned with clearly illuminated objects, but it is also a problem if everything is enveloped in shadows.” In order to get an understanding of the object, the depth and character, you must be able to see both light and darkness. With the sun behind the leaves, you get a sense of the overlap and space that is created between myself and the objects themselves. You are also able to get a sense of the direction of light and the density of the leaves. Where the light is the brightest, the leaves appear as if they are floating through the space.

 

How much of an object do you actually need to see in order to tell what it is? If positive space and negative space hold the same amount of importance, why is it called negative space? Which one is positive and which is negative?

Front Light_High Key

Weeds along the lake on Sunday afternoon, being lit from the front providing front light in high key.

Front Light_High Key

Lake Winona on Sunday afternoon with a front light in high key.

Front Light_Low Key

A reflection off a windshield of the trees and sky from the front proving a low key front light on Sunday evening.

Backlight

Trees and leaves around my apartment Sunday evening, being lit by the sun from behined providing a backlight.

Fill Light_Ambient Light

The doorknob of our aparment being lit by what was left of the sun early Sunday evening, but was enhanced when a car pulled into the parking lot on the left giving me ambient light.

Fill Light_Bounce Card

A bench along the sidewalk going around the lake on Sunday afternoon catching the reflection of the sun and the bluffs acting like its own bounce card.

Side Light_High Contrast

Rippling water on a windy Sunday with sun coming from the left and giving the depth of the waves a high contrast

Side Light_Low Contrast

Leaves on the shore of the lake on Sunday afternoon with little side sunlight and low contrast